Electrical connector



July 23, 1940.

H. P. TRUESDELL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 26/ 1938 kll l? Ihventor: Henrg'P. Tru esdell,

by Iva/p7 His Attorney.

Patented July 23, 1940 UNlTEl) STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Henry P. Truesdell, Schenectady, N. Y., asslgnor to General Electric Company, a corporation New York Application January 26,1938, Serial No. 187.046

4 Claims.

ceive the prong connectors of an electrical appliance.

In order. to secure a good electrical contact between the spring blades and prong connectors, it is necessary that the spring blades be formed of relatively heavy material which, while being flexible, must retain sufilcient strength to clamp the prong connectors firmly and securely. Under these conditions it is somewhat difiicult to insert the prong connectors between. the contact blades because it is necessary to spring or separate the blades by means of the prong whenever the prong connectors are to be inserted.

It is an object of this invention to provide auxiliary opening means for springing" or separating the contact blades prior to insertion of the prong connectors so that the prong connectors may be easily and quickly inserted between the contact blades; thereafter the auxiliary means is released to permit the contact blades to grip the connector prongs.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a view in elevation showinga connector incorporating the separating means; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device with one-half of the connector casing removed; Fig. '3 is a sectional view through the connector showing the spring blades in normal retracted position; Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the spring blades in expanded or separated position, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the blade separating means.

Referring to the drawing, a connector plug is shown at ll connected to a conductor ii by means or a strain relief sleeve l2 employed as a means to protect the connection between the cord' and the connector plug. The housing'of the connector is formed of two parts. I: and M, which are held together by any suitable me entil": as bolts (not shown) passing through ppenings IS. The two portions l3 and it are identical in structure and the lower portion only will be described with particular reierencw to Fig.- 2.

The lower base portion It is formed of suitable insulating material, such as a phenolic condensation product and filler, and is provided with a plurality of recesses it which are adapted to receive the contacts 11.; The contacts ii are formed of two opposed spring members it secured together by any suitable means.- such as .welding, and are embedded in a strain relieiplug it of insulatins matcrialwhich is mounted in a recess joining the recesses It. The conductors of the cord are connected to the respective contacts I! within the interior of the strain relief plug [9. The strain relief plug prevents withdrawal of the cord and contacts from the base of the connector and being integral with tects the connection between the conductors and spring contacts.

In order to provide for insertion of the connector posts or prongs of an electrical appliance, openings 2| are formed in the end wallof the base merging with the recesses it to receive the prongs of an appliance connector (not shown). The blades i8 are flared at 22 to facilitate entry of the connector, posts and are provided with tongues 23 to grip the posts closely. The contact blades i8 of the contacts are formed of heavy phosphor bronze and are normally in the retracted position shown by Fig. .3.

It is dimcult to apply the contact blades to the connector prongs of an appliance when the blades are in normally closed or retracted position because of the strength of the contact blades which resist separation by the prongs as the sleeve l2 forms a rigid structure which prothe connector ispushed down upon the connector prongs. Accordingly, it-is desirable to provide a means to open or separate the contact blades prior to insertion of the prong connec t'ors so that the prong connectors may be easily and readily insertable between the contact blades without the necessity of exerting considerable force to open the blades. Such a provision is nector to an electrical appliance such as an iron or toaster which may have become heated in use and which cannot readily be grasped by the hand for, forceful application of the connector.

To this end, a means to separate the blades is provided in the form of wedge-shaped elements .24 which are adapted to be inserted between 1 both pairs of contact blades l8. The wedgeshaped elements 2! are operated by means of handles 25 disposed on each side of the housing, the handles being pivoted to the housing by means of pivot pins 2 received in the bearing recesses 21. The handles 25 are formed of comparticularly desirable when applying the conshaped elements 24 retracted from between the spring blades. A projection 3| formed on' each of the'handles cooperates with a wall of the recess and retains thehandles within the recesses thereby limiting the outward movement of the handles under the influence of the springs 30.

It will be apparent that the operating handles 24 may be easily grasped 'at the knurled portions and forced toward each other to insert the wedge-shaped elements between the contact blades .thereby expanding the blades to a position, such as shown by Fig. 4 so that the prong connectors of an appliance may be easily inserted between the contact blades. the handles are released to permit the contact blades to grip the connectors. By providing the operating handles upon'each side of the housing of the connector, as shown by Rigs.- 1 and 2,

v the handles are located in a position where they are easily grasped by the fingers as the connectoris applied to the appliance.

' While I have shown a spring 3|! to maintain the wedge-shaped elements in retracted position, it

the resiliency of the contact blades will act upon the wedge-shaped members to force them and the operating handles to retracted position permitting the spring blades to close. The warious elements of the connector may be assembled upon the lower part of the-housing, as shown by'Fig. 2, and the upper part may then be applied over the lower part securely clamping the contact blades, operating handles and strain relief plug in position.

What I claim'as' new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an electrical-connector, a housing of insulating material, a spring contact member comprising opposed flexible spring blades mounted in-saidhousing and adapted to receive a prong connector, a manually movable element pivoted Thereafterin said housing and havingaportion extending beyond the confines thereof, a wedge-shaped projection on said element insertable between said blades to separate said blades for ready insertion of said prong, and spring means within said housing and engaging said element normally to hold said projection in withdrawn position.

2. In a plug connector, a housing of insulat ing material, a manually movable element pivoted within said housing and having a portion projecting from the-conflnes of said housing, a

contact member having opposed flexible blades sulating material having recesses therein, con

tact members comprising opposed spring blades v disposed'in said recesses, a second pair of recesses disposed on each side of said housing,

manually operable elements pivoted to said housing and" disposed in said'second mentioned recesses, a wedge-shaped member mounted on each of said elements and insertable between said contact blades to separate said blades for ready insertion of a plug connector, and spring means disposed in said second mentioned recesses to retain said wedge-shaped members in retracted position.

4. An electrical connector comprising a housing of insulating material having recesses there,- in, a plurality of contacts mounted in some of means having a portion extending beyond the for manual operation confines of the housing thereof.

HENRY P. munsnm 

